I see that Gianfranco MALIPIERO has been mentioned in other threads as an unsung 20thC symphonist, and I would be interested to hear your reactions to his compositions.
I am utterly astounded that he repudiated his works composed prior to his 'Damascus experience' of attending the premiere of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring in 1913. His Sinfonie del Silenzio e de La Morte (1909-10) is utterly beautiful, full of variety, powerful, charming and skillful. 8) 8)
Listening immediately afterwards to his 1st & 2nd Symphonies (1933 & 1936) it is clear that he has begun to sacrifice these qualities in pursuit of his post-Stravinskian vision. The 1st is still a fine work, but the 2nd less so for me, and I expect the 3rd continues the drift in the primitivist direction, that rhythm will increasingly crowd out melody, dissonance will supplant harmony, and I'll be increasingly lost! ;D
I know it's a matter of taste, but can anyone advise me otherwise, before I invest in more Malipiero? :-\ :-\
I think that the recent Naxos 8.572409 (Impressioni dal vero, 3 sets; Pause del Silenzio, 2 sets) is absolutely the Malipiero "must".
And a Cd which gives the possibility to follow the way of the composer since Debussy influences to more than moderately modern, but very , very personal utterance (and, anyway, the possibility of stopping oneself).
For me it is maybe the most revelatory record of the year (but it is, obviously, matter of taste).
Quote from: alberto on Wednesday 02 November 2011, 09:50
I think that the recent Naxos 8.572409 (Impressioni dal vero, 3 sets; Pause del Silenzio, 2 sets) is absolutely the Malipiero "must". ...............
Interestingly, Alberto, at least according to Wiki, it was his
Impressioni dal vero that Malipiero picked out as his only pre-Stravinsky piece of merit, and
Pause del Silenzio as one of his most important works. So that Cd does sound like a must! ;)
I actually don't mind the 2nd Symphony, by the way - I'm just sorry to lose that lovely shimmering beauty that I hear in his early work.
I agree with alberto :)
The recent Naxos disc is superb. These early works by Malipiero do show him to have been a great composer. The unfortunate thing about the later symphonies, many of which are extremely terse, is that the playing on the Marco Polo/Naxos discs by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra sounds tentative ands under-rehearsed.
Quote from: Dundonnell on Wednesday 02 November 2011, 13:04
I agree with alberto :)
The recent Naxos disc is superb. These early works by Malipiero do show him to have been a great composer. The unfortunate thing about the later symphonies, many of which are extremely terse, is that the playing on the Marco Polo/Naxos discs by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra sounds tentative ands under-rehearsed.
I second everythin you say. How nice if Naxos were to extend their Italian classics series to include new recordings of the Malipiero cycle.